Returning Home
by OzoraWings
Summary: Reborn, a detective working for the state is pulling all his resources into solving a very difficult case involving one kidnapped, Tsunayoshi Sawada - the boy whose disappearance he's responsible for, in a world where he finds dreams are no longer dreams
1. My dreams of you

His body felt light, like a feather floating in the air, his mind hazy and slow as he digested his surroundings; everywhere he turned being blank like a continuous white page - with no ceiling and no floor, vaguely wondering what he was standing on when he started to blink, moister creeping it's way to the corner's of his face; the wide open space bright, the man finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open, staining their focus as he tried to stay alert, his hairs sticking up on end as his ears caught a faint voice, echoing.

Swiftly turning on his heel - his whole body reeled, visibly recoiling as he saw a small boy standing but five feet away; absently watching him. The man biting his lip as he felt himself stammer back a step, easily recognising the child, for he had seen his picture a million times; his face so often dancing in his minds eye - almost mockingly so.

"Sawada, Tsunayoshi" he addressed, his obsidian orbs trailing from the puffy brown hair, to the innocent wide chocolate iris', and then onto his small body; that looked like it could break like a tooth pick if given even the slightest mistreatment. The man's face stiffened, oh how he wished he could find him, how he wished that he could close this case - that by now seemed never ending, with no finish line in sight.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts as the boy got his attention by outstretching his hand, pleadingly. He though, found himself unable to move, unable to take hold of those dainty fingers as his feet were seemingly stuck to the ground - fighting with himself as he tried to get closer.

"_Mister_" the boy called, the raven head realigning his vision from his shoes to the brunet, completely frustrated at his lack of control, and the last ounce of his cool head being lost because with one look he could tell how hard the eight year-old was trying to be strong "_Mister, please, I want to be found_" the voice gut wrenching as it trembled it's request.

The man found himself nodding instantly, instinctively trying to soothe the person in front of him, however unable to answer as his words got stuck in his throat, feeling almost suffocated as he started to choke, his back becoming hunched as he grasped at his neck, trying to remember how to breath as a burning pressure came to his lungs which where begging for oxygen, begging for release as the man's knee's buckled under the stress, barely remaining up right.

All pain pacifying when a warn ghost of a hand patted his back, rubbing circles into his suit - immediate results as he coughed and wheezed, finally able to fill his chest,. Looking up gratefully to his savoir, who smiled shakily at him "_It's a promise then_" he murmured, in understanding of what the man wanted to say, a slight bobbing of the boy's head, before everything became black.

* * *

Obsidian eyes snapped open, jolting up from his desk as he almost fall off of his office chair, the murmuring and startled shouts of concern going unnoticed as he gasped and panted, barely settling as his eyes travelled down to the wooden surface below - which only moments ago he had been using as a substitute bed; it being the seventh day he had failed to make it home as he contemplated his work, or had been looking over documents, however this time it seemed he had been using his main file as a pillow.

When his mind cleared he started on the task of berating himself for having fallen asleep, and making a mental note to drink more coffee before opening the sweaty folder; skimming over the content briefly before he met the picture again, the picture he had used as a constant reminder what he was doing, and who he was there for "Sawada, Tsunayoshi" he muttered, unable to move on from the photo of the happy little eight year-old. The boy being remembered so vividly in his memory, sighing to himself; it had happened again, another dream - never had he gotten so attached to a case as being able to depict them in his mind, in fact he tried not to bring his work home with him at all.

But this was different, this little boy was different; for if he was doing his job right _this_ never would have happened.

Shaking his head out of his ponderings he looked around the office, noticing his assistant only three feet away, hovering over his shoulder as a mask of concern was etched onto his face, the man rolled his eyes grunting for him to approach and waving away the glances that were really questions of 'are you alright?' and answering them with a curt 'yes', while he was at it.

His lackey hesitantly walked up, frowning all the while as he understood the silent message being sent his way - that was really the only good thing about working in such a crammed working environment; you got to know the people you worked with "A-are you alright, Reborn?" he stuttered, nervously holding his hands in front of his chest "D-did you have that dream again?"

Said man paused before answering, weighing the pros and cons of telling the truth to lying through his teeth. Turning his chair around and abounding the papers he was just about ready to spread out, he gave the teen his full attention, for this, in both of their eyes was serious; his lackey worrying that his overactive imagination was going to give him a heart attack, and he, that it was giving him a headache "It seems so" he admitted, much to the others displeasure.

"I - don't you think you've done enough?" he grimaced, his senior giving him his best death glare - warning him that he was dangerously close to being hung out of the top floor window by his underwear if he continued his stupidity "T-the office is ready to throw the case out, your t-the only thing keeping it going so-so-so why don't you give it a rest?" he demanded weakly, although he was used to being bullied by the older man, and although neither of them would ever admit it - they had gotten close, friends even, so he didn't like seeing the normally unshakable detective in such a state.

"You know as well as I do _why_" the detective scowled, he shouldn't be having this conversation, because it never should have happened; they had been there, the so called protectors, and they had been as good as useless "This is the way _I_ do things, if you've got a problem with that then get yourself transferred, I warned you some two years ago that I do my fucking job my way, Skull!" he shouted, using the other's name to drive his point home, and it did; in a matter of minutes the teen was white and twitchy, his earlier courage depleted while memories of their failure was bought up again.

The large busy room soon became stuffy and almost unbearably tense while the co-workers voices hushed, even those talking to claimants bit back their tone when hearing the booming yell "I-I know but-"

"If your so insistent then take it up with the head of the department, and if you manage to win the argument you can be the one to inform Sawada, Tsunayoshi's mother, and his friends that _you_ couldn't take the pressure of working with the big boys" the raven head hissed, malice encompassing his being, making his subordinate take a step back.

"I-I understand" Skull said sombrely, all but giving up at trying to reason with the man at this point, after all he wanted to find the boy to, and throw the damn book at the kidnappers, but the investigation wasn't going anyway; leads were fading and suspects were being ruled out. The teen couldn't help but shudder - they had well gone over the golden forty-eight time limit so the changes of finding the Sawada kid alive was bleak and seeing his boss hyperventilating out of sleep did nothing to soothe him of his concerns.

"Good. And just so you know that that ridiculous hair dye of yours is fading" the teen bit back a retort in the knowledge that if his boss was making fun of him it meant that they had moved on from the earlier unpleasantness, and had forgiven him in his own way for his insubordination.

Just then, as if on cue a uniformed officer came running up to them, a brunet in his wake as he made his way to their table "D-detective" he exclaimed once he was near, obsidian eyes sharpening on their arrival.

"_What is it?" he asked tentatively, _mindful of the teen in the background, quickly guessing that he was either a witness or some kind of victim for him to be bought straight to him and in such a manner.

"H-he says he needs to talk to you about the kidnapping case your handling" the officer informed, hastily making a bee-line for the exit, wry of his superior as he bowed before he practically ran away and out the door.

Said boy stepped in front of them, jumpy in movement as he nodded his hello "Name?" Reborn questioned curtly, he didn't have time for false leads; he had lost count of how many people had come forward just to be useless and time wasting morons, though he did enjoy throwing the twits in the slammer for 'misleading an officer of the peace, and trying to tamper with the investigation'.

"Basilicum Alfin" he introduced himself, the two investigators raising an eyebrow at the weird form of speaking "thou art detectives, correct?" the couple nodded, both finding themselves dumfounded.

Clearing his throat, Reborn stood and without protest guided the boy into the sit next to his; trying to calm the kid's nerves, collapsing back into place seconds later, fits of tiredness coming in waves "Yes, I'm Detective Reborn" he clarified, before motioning to his lackey "-And this would be officer Skull, who was put under my charge"

Bobbing his head in understanding, the brunet tried to keep eye contact as he found himself wanting to look at his feet, his lips thinning as he prepared himself to talk, minutes passing without being able to say a thing, words trembling as they left their prison "Tis a terrible thing, but hadst it not been hardest to you?, yet I know that… and I can't help but still feel self pity"

The raven head's eye twitched in annoyance, yet tried to remain professional though his irritation "Please, you say you have information?" he asked through gritted teeth, and white knuckles.

"Apologises, sirs, I have discovered things hence why I came" taking in a sharp breath he cringed "What do thou know of dreams?"

* * *

'Basilicum Alfin' - 'Basilicum' being basil's full name, and I chose 'Alfin' as his surname, for that was the name of his box weapon - since I couldn't find his real one.

* * *

**A/C-**

And with this I finally learnt the meaning of 'AU' *sigh* I've got complete writers block and I'm afraid to say I wrote this through tired eyes, good lord, I don't think I've ever felt this exhausted before. Anyway I wrote_ RH_ while trying to complete my other projects, which btw I' am still trying to do, I've just been run dry of ideas, is all - sorry for the wait, I should have them done by the end of the week...hopefully.

Getting back to _this_ distraction, did you know how much of a pain in the arse Basil is?, I feel like hitting something! *screams* I had this brilliant idea of using shapespeare for his speech since he uses an old form of speaking, right?, god I regret that now...but I hope it's at least semi-understandable, though I'm not holding my breath.

Right, moving on to the usual 'I don't know why I wrote this, but if I didn't write it, and _had_ forced myself to finish those updates they would have been terrible and rushed, so I hope you understand', and with that I'm going to go take a well needed shower.

* * *

I** Apologise **if there are any mistakes in my spelling/ grammar, or if you find anything I have written offensive.

* * *

**Thank you** to everyone who added '_Returning Home_' to their favorites/ alerts or who took the time to review, you also have my gratitude for reading.

**OW**


	2. My Father be a bigamist!

Chapter 2.

Returning Home.

Reborn's eyebrow raised as his stomach churned - the fact that his diet consisted of nothing more then caffeine and tobacco made the action even more sickly and hard to ignore. The feeling of dread that seemed to be sneaking up on him suddenly jumped, and sunk into his chest, while those suffocating dreams resurfaced, turning him slightly white, his lips dry as he swallowed.

In the midst of his inner turmoil, Skull glanced at the man from the corner of his eye - never had he seen his boss so distressed before, though he knew that this was probably going to happen when they first took the case, the only thing that comforted him about their situation was the fact that he was the one of few that could see it through the calm demeanour, meaning it couldn't be used against either of them. The lackey's forehead creased as he tried to stay focused as best as he could, though unwilling to speak encase it would be deemed 'stupid', or get him the backhand to his head from his senior, instead waiting for the detective to compose himself as the noises around them seem to grow with the man's silence; the clicking of pens, shuffling of papers, clanks of draws, the multiple voices from co-workers and unknown people overlapping, the ring of a phone every now and then making it even more musical to the two sets of ears that wandered, that is until a sound broke through them all.

"I don't like people wasting my time" Reborn stated, sighing through his nose as he pushed his hand roughly through his hair, his sideward bangs being carried up and away from their resting place on his face in the process. Wanting to get the facts through the kid's head before going any further; _he_ wasn't about to explain himself to a possible liar, that question would be left for later, or possibly even ignored entirely.

The youth nodded, his fidgeting from those few quite moments long gone as he perked up, albeit nervous of the man in front of him "Thou who seems not one with pertinence has waited. But be reassured, I would not have walked down your path, and knocked on your door if to merely waste sunlight's hours" the teen said solemnly, his fingernails painfully digging into the chairs arms, the already tarnished leather gaining new wilts with the action.

The detective huffed, that old fashion speech grating on his last nerve; to him it sounded pompous and irritating, not at all poetic or artist like others would think of it, but those people hadn't been faced with one Basilicum Alfin when you hadn't slept properly for a week "Alright, here's how it goes: I'll ask you questions, _before _you tell me what you have to say. Afterwards you'll leave me your contact information and if we think your useful and want to hear from you again we'll get back to you" he had had enough of all the crap people were tying to sell him, he was tired of selfish attention seekers using his investigation for their five minutes of fame.

Basilicum blinked, his mouth lingering parted as he went over those words, before giving the two policeman a nod "Good. Now lets start with how you know Tsunayoshi Sawada" he questioned in curt words, leaning back in his chair as he prepared himself to rip this kid a new one.

The brunet half frowned, half smiled as he released the pressure he had been applying to the poor abused furniture, vaguely feeling a tinge of pain in doing so, his eyes quickly looking for cause as he soon became embarrassed - not having known of his tight grip "Forget about that. It happens" Reborn murmured, having kept an eye on those white knuckles for a while, and soon seeing the blush that flared over those immature cheeks.

"I-I - my most humblest apologises, sirs, my attention be -"

"It's fine. Answer the question so we can move" the man ordered, cutting the boy off before he could go on any further; he didn't want to hear useless statements by a possible useless witness. What he wanted was answers to questions that he had a list full of, he wanted the child home with his mother.

"Understood" the brunet nodded, placing his hands in his lap as to not tempt fate "I hath not met thou Tsunayoshi, but -"

The detective growled, not having the strength of mind to stifle it "Then do you know his family?"

The teen felt flustered as he was cut off, and then question changed so quickly but decided he would get what he wanted to say eventually, and answered honestly "I have not met his mother but -"

With that, the man cancelled out any ideas of family friend. Busybody, however was still on the table "Then what do you know of July the 23rd?" he continued, pressing forward rather hastily, wanting to throw the arse out.

"I-I was not -" he stuttered as he was once again cut off, unable to keep up with the fast following questions, the air getting heavier almost unbearable, as the room was already stuffy.

"Then do you have a sighting to inform us about?" he ask, ignoring the baffled expression he earned; he really didn't care if this would earn him another report - another black mark against his name, he just didn't care anymore - he had joined the force as soon as he was older enough to work, raising through the ranks with ease and actually enjoying his job. Known for his cocky but skilful attitude, that had turned to a smug masquerade, however that was a long time ago, a life time ago. He gave everything to his cases but after all these years he was finally exhausted, both emotionally and physically exhausted.

"N-nay -"

"Alright then, thank you for coming forward. After my companion gets the forms we would like you to fill in, you can leave" he said, turning to Skull, who looked just as flabbergasted as the brunet "Would you get the -"

"Y-you tool!, hath you no tact?, while tis' true that I have nothing of use involving information, I-I had just found yesterday that my father be a bigamist!, I' am the bastard child of Iemitsu Sawada!" he shouted completely disgruntled by the lack of care the detective was giving his job.

The onyx-haired man blinked, his eyes glinting something akin to interest as he settled back into his chair "Hm?, Iemitsu Sawada, you say?, oh please go on" he smirked while absentmindedly wavering of his command he had been about to give to his lackey, who nodded in the corner of his eye before relaxing.

Skull stepped forward, his arms by his sides as he kept his gaze on the teen, like he had been since this integration started. It had been a long time since he had been allowed to say this, it had been a while since his boss had been even a little intriguing, so he had been completely useless - not even needed to write notes until he was even that one nod to ask "Coffee or tea?"

* * *

**A/N-**

So chapter 2, I hope it was worth the wait, I'm not sure myself...I can't say that I didn't half fall asleep writing it, for I have not slept in twenty-four hours, so I'm sorry if there are more mistakes then usual - I did check but my eyes are pretty unfocused.

Anyway, I'm still killing myself about choosing Basil's form of speech Shakespeare, ah, I want to hit something. It's torture because it takes 10x longer to write, and then even more time when rereading *Sigh*. So on another note, I wonder if anyone has figured out where I'm going, or is it to early for that? (^^)

* * *

I** Apologise **if there are any mistakes in my spelling/ grammar, or if you find anything I have written offensive.

* * *

**Thank you** to everyone who added '_My dreams of you_' to their favorites/ alerts or who took the time to review, you also have my gratitude for reading.

**OW**


	3. My tired resolve

Disclaimer: I do_ not_ own any of the featured media, the rights go to their respect owners.

* * *

Returning Home.

Chapter.03.

Basilicum had his lips over the rim of the mug that had been handed to him only minutes before, sipping at the warm liquid as he tried to relax his nervous body; it'd been along few days for him, from finding out that his father had been living a second life to the fact that his half brother had been kidnapped.

His mother had come to him in tears and cried her eyes out on his shoulder; she had know for years, that her husband had been cheating on her, but when she watched the news and saw Sawada, Tsunayoshi's picture on the scene she could no longer keep it to herself, wailing that his little sibling had been taken by a group of bank robbers and that there was a chance that he wasn't coming home and that he might never might the cute looking brunet.

That night had been terrible; he had been coming in and out of sleep, cold sweat and obviously agitated, until that is, the clock turned three in the morning; his stomach had been churning and the little boy had been haunting his mind when he suddenly started feel drowsy and warm, like he was in a protective embrace, which led to him fall asleep.

It had been deep and dreamless, that is until a small little figure came into his mind, that he had recognised immediately; Tsunayoshi. The child was standing but five feet away, looking at Bailicum expectantly "_You need to go"_

The teen looked at the other in confusion "_You need to go, please_" the voice pleaded.

Basil shock whatever nagging feeling he had had that was keeping him from speaking, stuttering his lifes worth as he tried to reason with his brother, that he would have to explain what he wanted, that he didn't understand where he wanted him to go.

"_Mister detective and mister policeman, they don't understand, they don't understand_"

Sighing, Basil swallowed another gulp of tea, looking both men in the eye "Tsunayoshi brother hath spoken of you in my dream" he informed as he lowered his arms and the cup to his lap, feeling the warmth seep into his skin as the temperature dropped "he pleaded to warn you of thou dreams"

Reborn's eyes sharpened, he had wondered where the teen had been going when he had first mentioned dreams, because it was an odd thing to ask of. The detective had never really paid much attention to them before Tsunayoshi Sawada, but now, he honestly he couldn't ignore them "And how are you going to prove you accession?" he asked, not giving an inch.

Basilicum looked thoughtful for a moment before a flash glinted behind his eyes "Ah!, Tsunayoshi brother calls you mister detective" he exclaimed with a hint of excitement for remembering, while pointing to the raven-haired man and shifting to the other "-and he calls thou mister policeman!"

Both partner's eyes widened before they paled, certain words echoing in both of their ears as guilt swelled in their chests "_Wow!, that's so cool!. So, you guys are like knights then, right?"_

Obsidian orbs closed as he sighed through his nose, suddenly feeling days of unrest and sleepless nights catching up with him "What else did he say?" he asked silently, so much so that Skull and Basil had to stain to hear it and even after those words started to process, they didn't quite believe "Well?" he snapped.

"T-Tsunayoshi brother did not stay long, that was all" the teen mumbled, feeling completely useless as he remembered the little boy and soon sadness swept over him.

"Alright, thank you for your information" Reborn said as he peeled his eyes open "once you fill out a contact form you may go" the detective added as Skull walked away to get said document.

"Pardon me, but -"

"I'll consider what you've said." the man interrupted "now, you'll have to excuse me" he nodded his leave, the teen bobbed his in return, being left in the busy room, alone, as he waited for the lackey to return so that he could go home while Reborn walked through the door, heading for somewhere he never thought he'd go.

Mukuro Rokudo walked through the long hallway, his hands in his lap as his handcuffs jangled with the recoil, and bounced with every step he took. He was in a better mood than usual; it was visiting hour and although he was unsure of whether or not Nagi could make it or not, he had had a goodnights sleep and no one had bothered him today.

And just as that thought crossed his mind, the single room's door was opened by one of the two offices that were with him, and his mismatched eyes settled on the raven-haired man, who was sat at the table. He suddenly felt annoyed, but hid it behind fake amusement as he chuckled, sending obvious shivers down the uniformed men on either side of him.

"Would you gentleman, please take me back to my cell, I have no intention of wasting my time" he said sweetly, freezing his guards in place as they were unsure of what to do.

"Rokudo. Sit" Reborn ground out, his emotions fraying and the last of his patience long since gone; he had no qualms of snapping and for once, letting his temper show "_Now_."

The pineapple head blinked and then blinked again before he smirked, sauntering into the room and lowering himself into the plastic chair, much to his guards relief; going against either the detective or the killer would be bad for them, and no sooner closed the door behind them as soon as Reborn sent them a glare.

"This is quite surprising, seeing you so flustered" Mukuro grinned "is this some kind of present?"

Reborn growled "I do not have the time for your mockery, and frankly I don't care to comment" he said as he scowled, his eyes darkening, pausing before he reopened his mouth "everything I'm about to say to you is to never leave this room, understood?."

The criminal raised an eyebrow, the usual cockiness and smartass attitude completely missing from the man he knew, replaced with exhaustion and something else he just couldn't put his finger on "Alright" he nodded.

"Let me make this clear for the both of us: a six year-old boy's life hangs in the balance and I'll be damned if I don't find him. So if you _lie_ to me, and go about trying to hinder _my_ investigation, I will personally throw the book at you - every charge I can get, all the time possible, I will. And after putting you with the toughest cellmate I can, we, we still won't be even" he warned in a hushed voice "On, no. I'll take your arse over to his mother and his friends, and I'll force you to look them all in the eye, while you explain your actions and why their loved one won't be coming home"

"Got that, Rokudo?. People don't mess with me because I don't make threats, I make promises"

"So your asking for my help?" Mukuro tried to clarify, completely ignoring the other's intimidation tactics, though making a note of it for later.

The man simply nodded "I'm on a high profile case right now, which is probably the only reason the office hasn't thrown it out: it'd look bad" he sighed through his nose "Tsunayoshi Sawada was kidnapped in a botched robbery" he informed, sliding the kid's picture across the table and in front of Mukuro, who picked it up and proceeded to go white as a sheep.

"T-Tsunayoshi?" the teen stuttered, his eyes widening as he suddenly felt sick, fond memories suddenly darkening at the news.

Reborn raised an eyebrow at the other's behave but didn't really comment until the criminal placed the picture on the table, flipping it over with his hand on top "Do you know him?"

Mukuro frowned and sighed "Yes. When I was trying to get my jail sentence down: I was doing some talks at schools when I met him…Tsunayoshi…was such a sweet child" he whispered, remembering the way those chocolate eyes had looked at him with such love and acceptance that no one else had. That boy, who had such a beautiful soul, hadn't treated him any differently.

"He's been missing for close to two weeks now, I know you realise what that means" Reborn said, with a now stoic face; trusting this agreement more after seeing the other's reaction.

The pineapple head grew paler, grimacing at the thought "What do you need, detective?"

The raven-head smirked "I know you have information on a lot of…supernatural things" he phased tentatively, the teen looking confused "I've been having dreams"

Mukuro laughed "To much coffee perhaps?"

"No. Tsunayoshi's half brother came in today and has been experiencing the same thing: the boy's been visiting us in our sleep."

The implications hit home for the criminal, his stomach suddenly churning at the new knowledge "What does he say?" he asked through a coarse voice, swallowing deeply afterwards.

Reborn suddenly felt exhausted as he rubbed his temples "'Mister, please, I want to be found'" he repeated, knowing it by heart as he had been hearing it for at least a week "it's always the same, his brother's dream were different apparently, Tsunayoshi simple asked him to tell_ me_ to pay more attention" he scoffed with little humour.

Mukuro looked thoughtful "…I-I'm unsure of how to help you, if he's calling out to people it is not a good sign for his soul…" he murmured "I _have_ seen cases where a victim will leave their body if in a coma, but those situations are few and far in-between, I'm sorry but it doesn't look good"

The raven head's lips thinned "All I can suggest is that you go to other members of his family, his mother perhaps, or his friends. I can only guess as to why he's chosen to visit you, but their seems to be a reason."

"Alright" Reborn nodded as he stood, an unreadable expression on his face as he began to mentally prepare for the tasks ahead "for your help I'll ask the dinner lady to do something special" he said with a reviled voice, half way out of the room when someone pulled him back.

"Detective." the other's voice called, stopping him mid-step as he had just began to reach for the door handle "Give him what he wants: bring him home"

Without answering, the man left. He would, rather he was asked to or not, because he owed Sawada, Tsunayoshi a lot more then he could possibly repay.

* * *

**A/N -**

I know, I know, I suck. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get to this chapter but I've been completely stuck on how to write this chapter, I mean I know how this story will end, but I just couldn't...see it, if that makes any sense.

So, on another subject, another apology is in order for how short and how ill-written it is, I just don't have a lot of love for this chapter so it made it diffcult to pur my heart into it, I'll do better next time!.

* * *

I** Apologise **if there are any mistakes in my spelling/ grammar, or if you find anything I have written offensive.

* * *

**Thank you** to everyone who added '_My Father be a bigamist!_' to their favorites/ alerts or who took the time to review, you also have my gratitude for reading.

**OW**


	4. Waiting for my baby

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own any of the featured media, the rights go to their respected owners.

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Returning Home.

Chapter.04.

For Sawada, Nana her baby was her world; Tsuna was everything to her. He was such a good little boy; he did what he was told, he listen to what she said and barely ever talked back. His manners were a God send and so was he. She honestly couldn't have asked for more.

Nana could hardly believe that it had been six years since his first breath; time had moved so quickly - his first words, his first steps had long since passed and he was coming into his own; he was growing into a person. A good person.

A great man, she would bet any amount on, one day. It was funny to think of her baby as anything but that, but it was happening right in front of her eyes.

Tsuna had made her so proud. He had worried her at first; he was always so quiet that she feared others would ignore him, but it seemed his nature attracted all different types of people. It had amazed her in the beginning, but now she could take it all in her stride; all that meant was that people were finally starting to see Tsuna for what he truly was.

Tsuna was still so young, but he had his own opinions of things, and although his young eyes had never seen the darkness of the world, Nana could tell that he had his own kind of understanding. He insightful. And that both gave Nana worry and pride.

Tsuna was barely seven and he was surrounded by people who loved him. It had Nana so happy.

But that happiness shattered. It was meant to be a normal day; she and her Tsu and one of his friends were helping her with shopping, when she noticed that her purse was empty and went to the local bank to make a withdrawal. They hadn't minded much, though Yamamoto had offered to loan her money - she couldn't possibly accept and off they went to the large, brick building.

Tsuna, as soon as they had gotten to the entrance had asked if they could leave and go back later; that had been a little strange, Nana would remember thinking; her Tsu wouldn't usually question things, even Yamamoto looked thrown.

"_Why can't we go now?" _Nana had asked, her finger interlinked with Tsuna's, while Yamamoto held the other hand. They both looked down to his uneasy expression and frowned.

"_B-because m-my skins hot. Ev-everything's hot!_" he exclaimed, panic was edged into his voice as his stomach churned in warning "_a-and when it's h-hot i-it means s-something bads' going to happen!"_

Yamamoto laughed "_Nothing's going to happen, you don't need to worry_" Tsuna looked ready to protest, before he added "_besides, you got me here. I'll protect you_"

Tsuna had relented some what after that, but point-blank refused to move too far from the door, so Yamamoto had to stay with him in the corner while Nana went to get some cash out of her account. She was at the counter when screams erupted from the front of the bank. She had turned quickly, and was just in time to see man of varying height, dressed in black, storm through the doors with guns by their sides.

Everything was a blur for Nana after that, she was in such extreme panic and worry that her brain had partly stopped functioning, because not only were there weapons in sight, and in untrustworthy and dangerous hands, but her baby was on the other end of the room and she wasn't allowed to move; she couldn't get to him and she was useless to protect him.

Nana trusted Yamamoto unconditionally; she had allowed Takeshi to baby-sit Tsuna, when he - _he_ had said she needed some 'big persons time', she went to the spa, they watched movies. She had agreed to the sleepover because they had asked with big, puppy-dog eyes; now, people may think she was crazy to say 'yes' to a _man, _she wasn't related to, take Tsuna home with him - they might even call her a bad mother, but she knew they had a strong bond, and a friendship that would last lifetimes.

She knew that Yamamoto would unquestioningly and _willingly_ take a bullet for Tsuna, she knew that that man would protect her little boy, but despite that, her maternal instincts were screaming at her; run to him - stand in front of him - throw your arms wide - and growl at any of them that dared close.

The only thing stopping her?; the logical part of her brain.

She couldn't risk anyone's safety when those people were more then likely to just take the money and leave; no one was going to get hurt as long as everyone cooperated.

Was what she thought. But Tsuna had gotten involved; he had stood up and protected two men he hadn't even known.

That day, was like every other day - She and Tsuna had gone shopping with a friend, when she noticed she didn't have any money. That day, was like any other day - Tsuna was being Tsuna; he was being the thoughtful boy he was; he was being the protective person he always had been.

That was the day her heart had stopped, and she had frozen to the spot, while the biggest man there had gone over to see what the fuss was about, and had started to size her little boy up. She didn't know when, she didn't know how, but when it was time for them to live, that same man had thrown Tsuna over his shoulder.

They were leaving - they were leaving with her son. She had snapped, heat was washing over her body and her stomach was twisting and turning when she ran forward franticly. People had gasped, people had screamed, and she had cried after him.

Nana hadn't gotten far - she had gotten shot, and they had easily left. Yamamoto had shouldered his way through the forming crowd, his face was twisted and white, with tears were forming in his eyes and she knew that he was a mirror image of her.

Yamamoto had been completely protective of her when they had reached the hospital; he watched anyone who dared come close with a sharp and suspect eye. He had taken her home where they did little of anything. It had been silent, suffocatingly so.

Their little day out made headlines, and Nana cried. Yamamoto punched a wall.

Nana felt so out of place at home; she didn't know what to do, if she should be doing anything at all. She was lost and she had lost her signpost, her map - she had lost Tsuna. Everything had gotten so dark, and had felt so empty.

What if he was never returned?, what if he was never given back?.

Though those thoughts hadn't been given much time to settle because the doorbell rang, she had reluctantly risen from her place at the kitchen table and had told Yamamoto to wait there. The door was opened and she was encompassed into a bone-crushing - one of Tsuna's friends.

The doorbell would ring nine more times, and she found herself, although becoming sadder and sadder - warmer and warmer. Her little Tsuna had given her great support; it felt like a hug to the heart. Most of them had stayed the night, and the ones who hadn't promised to return in the morning.

They had all been amazing, and she couldn't thank them enough.

After all, they were waiting with her - they would continue to wait and they wouldn't stop until Tsuna was home, where he belonged.

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**A/N-**

Yes! I'm back from the dead!. And I bring updates!. So, this is a little short considering how long you've been waiting and I'm incredibly sorry about that. But I had to get myself back into the story; it's been awhile. Though the updates won't be so waited for - thanks to the little break I've got more ideas for it and my passions back.

So the next chapter should be soon, and longer!.

**Attention - notice - 07.08.12(copied and pasted from my profile)**: Alright, now my readers from other stories will probably have noticed that on my A/Ns I mentioned going away - and I' _am _going to have a small holiday for my birthday. I'll there between the 13th - 18th, though I probably won't be back online for longer then that. So don't expect to see me about for at least a week and a half.

Before I leave, I will be updating_ all_ of my stories as my present to you (how exactly does that work?) but that also means I'll be in a huge rush and that I likely won't have time to probably proofread them, which will have to wait for later. But look at the bright side, if you were waiting for a certain story of mine to be updated that hasn't been touched - it now will be.

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I** Apologise **if there are any mistakes in my spelling/ grammar, or if you find anything I have written offensive.

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**Thank you** to everyone who added '_My tired resolve_' to their favorites/ alerts or who took the time to review, you also have my gratitude for reading.

**OW**


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